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Saturday, October 17, 2009

love.

have you met my dad? some people call him J.O. when i was little i called him dad-o. now i just call him dad.

some of the reasons i love my dad...

1. he likes good music, movies, and books.

2. he's a good storyteller.

3. he makes up silly songs.

4. he tells me and my girls that we're pretty.

5. at age 50-something, he's a cyclist, mountaineer, and runner.

6. he gives guidance rather than advice.

7. he claims he's not an "emotional guy" but he really is.

8. he writes funny clues on the outside of our christmas gifts.

9. he's a talker and a listener. good combination.

10. he gave me the Shotgun Talk this week.

*

since mr. arganbright is gone, i think our parents may be a little bit concerned about our safety. we live on a fairly busy street that lots of people walk down and doesn't have streetlights. soon it'll be getting dark by like, noon each day and toting two kids and all our stuff in & out of the house could make me somewhat vulnerable. plus, there've been some creepers around our town and a few minor garage robberies.

anyway, the other night at dinner, dad-o was just reminding me to be aware of my surroundings, lock doors, leave a light or two on when i'm gone, et cetera; and the conversation turned to guns. mr. arganbright owns a few and keeps a pistol on a super-high shelf in our closet that i can't even reach. i joked to my dad that i should've had him teach me how to use it. my dad hesitated, but eventually said that actually, a shotgun would be better because it's sending out a spray of bitty-bullets rather than one bullet. making my chance of actually hitting someone much greater. he paused again, trying to decide the most tactful and non-scary way to say that; in the event someone broke into our house, i should get the girls and the shotgun, crouch down into the corner of the room and say,
"i have a gun and if you don't leave my house by the count of five i will kill you."
he specifically told me to say "kill you" rather than "shoot you" because (and i quote) if i shot a robber and didn't kill him, it most-likely would not end well for me.

our dinner conversation may be a little shocking, but it made me feel loved. of course my dad doesn't expect for me to ever have to say the words, "i will kill you" or ever use a gun, but he wants me to be prepared and safe.

*

when we were kids, our family had a secret signal. if ever an adult came up to us and said, "hey, your mom's sick and she asked me to pick you up from school." they had to hold up three fingers. the three fingers stood for: i. love. you. i never had to use the secret signal, but it always made me feel safe just to have it.

it's kinda like my dad gave me a new secret signal this week. it requires more than three fingers and hopefully i'll never have to use it, but it makes me feel safe just to have it.

Hey B,You cudda mentioned your nickname, "Killer B." BTW, what I meant by "kill 'em don't just wound them" is that the law would defend the attacker if he escaped with a shotgun wound. The law would favor you if you take someone out in self-defense. I was not thinking they'd continue to attack. Maybe they would but that's why you have TWO shells! And finally, since you're right around the corner from the police station I think your chances of being a victim of a violent crime at home are really slim. Just for the record... That was a kind tribute. What virtue there may be in me is brought on by my wife/children/grandchildren who bring it out of me.

awwww....reminds me of the time when my dad sat me down for the handgun talk & demonstration....*sniff-sniff* those were the days.

what an awesome dad.

you know what my grandpa did for safety? bought one of those real life sized dummies to ride in the car w/ him...then he'd put it in the house, staged...like reading the paper, etc. maybe you could borrow it from him?? :)

We have been "under the weather" here so I haven't invited you and the girls over but we are almost completely healthy so hopefully sometime next week you can come play and have dinner! What looks good for you???